A new article from Ning Yan’s lab has been published in Nano Energy written by Araz Rajabi-Abhari, Pandeng Li, Majid Haji Bagheri, Asif Abdullah Khan, Cheng Hao, Nicolas R. Tanguy, Dayan Ban, Longjiang Yu, and Ning Yan.

You can find the article here

Abstract

With growing concerns about sustainability, there has been significant research interest in fabricating triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) from materials capable of self-repair. Here, we presented a novel polyimine/graphite polypropylene (PI/GP) vitrimer composite as a tribo-positive material for harvesting biomechanical energy. The PI/GP exhibited mechanical robustness, self-healing properties after damage, and recyclability through physical or chemical methods. The GP provided a high dielectric constant, charge transport paths, and desirable surface roughness, resulting in an outstanding TENG performance at an optimized addition level of 30 wt% in the composite (PI/GP30). Under a force of 15 N and a frequency of 6 Hz, the PI/GP30 TENG generated a power density of 2571 mW/m². Moreover, a PI/GP30 TENG device with an area of 49 cm² was able to generate a remarkable output voltage of nearly 1325 V, at a frequency of 6 Hz and under a vertical force of 15 N. Additionally, the PI/GP30 TENG device produced a peak-to-peak voltage of 1250 V, and an outstanding current of around 2 mA by hand tapping with a force of 35–40 N. The PI/GP30 TENG was utilized for real-life applications, including a triboelectric watchband for a self-powered watch, and wireless data transmission. Furthermore, the PI/GP30 TENG demonstrated excellent self-healing and recyclability, and these properties were examined in a mousepad power generator. This study highlights the excellent promise of PI/GP vitrimer composite for fabricating high-performance, mechanically robust, self-healable, and recyclable TENGs, enabling their applications in green biomechanical power generators and wearable and wireless communication devices.